Major League Baseball on ABC

Major League Baseball on ABC
Also known as
GenreMajor League Baseball game telecasts
Developed byABC Sports
Directed bySteve Danz[1]
Chet Forte
Ken Fouts
Craig Janoff[2]
Larry Kamm
StarringMajor League Baseball on ABC broadcasters
Theme music composerCharles Fox
Robert Israel[3]
Lillian Scheinert[4][5]
Kurt Bestor[6]
Scott Schreer[7]
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Editors
  • Dean Hovell
  • Conrad Kraus
  • Pamela Peterson
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time180 minutes (or until game ends)
Original release
Network
ReleaseApril 12, 1976 (1976-04-12) –
October 28, 1989 (1989-10-28)
ReleaseJuly 16, 1994 (1994-07-16) –
October 26, 1995 (1995-10-26)
ReleaseSeptember 29, 2020 (2020-09-29) –
present (present)
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

National television broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games have aired on ABC in various formats.[8] The network first aired Saturday Major League Baseball Game of the Week games between 1953 and 1955, in 1960, and in 1965. ABC then televised MLB games from 1976 to 1989, airing Monday Night Baseball, Thursday Night Baseball, and Sunday Afternoon Baseball in various years during that period.

MLB games aired on ABC again in 1994 and 1995 as part of The Baseball Network, the short-lived time-brokered package of broadcasts produced by Major League Baseball and split with NBC. After not televising MLB since The Baseball Network folded, and after the ABC Sports division merged with ESPN in 2006, ABC has aired selected games as part of its sister cable network's contract since 2020. The broadcasts since 2020 have been produced by ESPN, and have primarily used the ESPN Major League Baseball branding and graphics instead of the Major League Baseball on ABC branding.

  1. ^ Sarni, Jim (October 7, 1988). "ABC Is Good Or Bad, Depending On Series". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "1989 World Series". Turner Classic Movies.
  3. ^ ABC Monday Night Baseball Theme 1984 (NO V/O) - Robert Israel on YouTube
  4. ^ ABC Sunday Afternoon Baseball 1980 - Open - Lillian Scheinert, Robert Israel on YouTube
  5. ^ ABC's Monday Night Baseball (1983 Season) - no voiceover on YouTube
  6. ^ The ABC baseball theme, 1988-'89 on YouTube
  7. ^ Baseball Network Theme 1994 1995 (Various Cuts) on YouTube
  8. ^ Walker and Bellamy Jr., James Robert and Robert (June 2008). Center Field Shot: A History of Baseball on Television. ISBN 978-0803248250.